A Grim Grinning Ball
by Aratelinwen
Summary: Mickey and the gang have been invited to attend a ball at Gracey manor. What they entered upon was more than what they had imagined it to be. Will they now be taking up residence in the famous Haunted Mansion?
1. A Gracey Invitation

Disclaimer: I do not own anything related to the Walt Disney Company.

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_You are cordially invited to_  
_Gracey Manor  
To partake in the  
__Annual Gracey Ball  
__Please arrive on  
__Saturday, September 17, 1935  
__At promptly  
__7 o'clock pm  
__Dress in black tie_

This was the invitation that Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, Donald Duck, Daisy Duck, and Goofy all held in their hands as they stood outside the gates to the Southern Gracey Manor on the banks of the New Orleans' swamps. The sky was dark and the air damp from a future storm on it's way over. Wind swirled around the colorful leaves that lay on the ground and made creepy noises as it past through the trees. The ever-present feel of death was among the grounds of the manor, but only one seemed to sense it.

Pluto sniffed about at the gates, almost whimpering a warning for them to turn around. "Aww… it's alright, boy. Nothing can go wrong here," said Mickey as he straightened his tie and adjusted his hat.

"Yeah, we're just here to enjoy a nice party," said Minnie, smoothing out her dress.

"Party? Yippee! And I thought we were here to play a game of ball," said Goofy.

"Oh brother," Donald uttered as he slapped his hand against his forehead.

"I can't wait to see the latest fashions. Only people of an aristocratic background will be at this social event. Oh, Minnie, how do I look? Do you think I'd be able to fit in with a social elite crowd?" asked Daisy, over looking her appearance.

"Well, Daisy, I…" began Minnie.

"Of course I will. I am wearing the latest in House of Duck Magazine," interrupted Daisy. "Well, what are we waiting for? The clock to strike midnight? Let's go inside."

"But we can't go in!" shouted Goofy.

"Why not, Goofy?" asked Mickey, giving him a confused look.

Goofy then bent over to show Mickey the huge lock on the gate as he said, "Because the gate's…" The whole gang then took a step back and saw the gate slowly open, magically. It made creaking noises as if they had not been oiled for several decades. "Open…"

"H-h-how did that happen?" stuttered Donald, a bit scared.

"Gosh, I don't know," said Mickey, staring in shock at the gates.

"Must have an electric fence," suggested Daisy, like she wasn't surprised at all, and the rest of the gang gave her an odd look at her comment. "Now, let's go. Tick- tock, the clock is running and we're going to be late."

"Oh my gosh, you're right. It's ten past seven," exclaimed Mickey, starting to panic.

Minnie then grabbed Mickey's collar and got up in his face and shook him a bit to make him come back to his senses. "Mickey Mouse, get a hold of yourself. We will just simply explain to Master Gracey that we were locked outside the gates," Minnie calmly explained and then let go of Mickey.

"Oh yeah. Good thinking, Minnie," said Mickey, and he chuckled then fixed his collar. "Well, gang, let's go!"

And with that, Mickey and the gang walked down the dark, rocky road towards the ghostly looking mansion, while Pluto sniffed about, still unsure about how safe this party was going to turn out to be.

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I hope this ball is livelier than its surroundings are. One can only hope.

Please Review! I love to hear comments.


	2. Death's in the Air

Disclaimer: I do not own anything in this story, except my writing, because I am just a lowly Cast Member and not a CEO.

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Everyone stood outside the door, frozen with fear, for a wolf's howl was heard ringing throughout the air and sent a chill down everyone's spine. "Gwarsh, what was that noise?" asked Goofy, with his teeth chattering.

"It sounded like a wolf's howl," responded Donald, hiding behind Goofy's legs and shaking.

"Come on, gang, I'm sure there is nothing to worry about," said Mickey, trying to sound brave. "So, is anyone gonna knock on the door?"

"Not me. I can't get dust on my new dress," said Daisy, coming up with an excuse.

"Well, I for one won't stand out here in the cold another minute," said Minnie, and she went up to the door and knocked on it as bats flew out of the crevices of the roof, flapping around the freighted gang.

Pluto barked and jumped at the bats until all of the bats had all flown away. "Good job, boy," said Mickey, patting Pluto's head, as he let out an accomplished bark. "Is everyone alright?"

Moans of a weak approval escaped everyone's mouth as they all fixed their ties or dresses, and then straightened as the door slowly creaked open. "May I help you?" asked an elderly looking gentleman in a hand pressed tuxedo.

Mickey gulped, looking up at the tall figure. "We're… We're here for the party," he stuttered.

"May I see your invitation?" questioned the old man.

Mickey shakily handed his invitation to the old man. "Here you go," he said.

The old man looked over the invitation very carefully, as not to miss a detail. "And the rest of you?" he asked and the others handed him their invitations as well. "Very well," he began. "Please follow me into the ballroom," and he stepped aside to let them all in.

"So, what's your name?" questioned Goofy, once they all started walking towards the ballroom.

"I am Ramsely, the butler, and Master Gracey's closest friend," answer the old man, leading them down the dreary hallway.

"Well, it's nice to meet you, Ramsley," said Goofy, as he shook Ramsely's hand.

Ramsley rolled his eyes and then wiped his white glove against his jacket in disgust and muttered, "Charmed."

"Ramsely, what's the history behind this house? It looks remarkable," asked Minnie, looking at the walls and ornaments decorating the long hallway.

"Captain Ambrose Gracey was the founder of this mansion when he purchased this property back in the 1800s. He wanted to find the perfect spot where he could be able to know when one of his ships or others would enter or leave the river with his goods he traded. Some thought he was foolish to build a manor on this property, because of the cemetery in the backyard," began Ramsley, in a calm voice.

"Ce-ce-cemetary?" stuttered a scared Donald.

"Yes, I will show you the view from the balcony, once we reach the ballroom," answered Ramsely, then he continued with the story. "The cemetery was actually a strategic move on Captain Gracey's part. He used it to build secret passageways connecting a tomb to the house to store goods in. They also provided a means for escape if the manor were ever attacked upon. The rest of the manor is lavish, because Captain Gracey was always having houseguests over. Today, his grand-son, Edward Gracey now resides in Gracey Manor, but never leaves the premises nor talk to anyone else."

"So, why did he stop speaking with everyone?" asked Mickey, very curious about it all.

"That is between Master Gracey and myself, I am afraid," responded Ramsley.

"Oh, sorry," apologized Mickey, blushing a bit.

Ramsley then led everyone to a pair of gigantic doors to the ballroom and announced, "Ladies and Gentleman, I introduce you to Master Edward Gracey." He then pushed open the double doors to reveal Edward Gracey hanging by a rope around his neck under the chandelier.

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Oh no, who could have done such a murderous deed? Or was it suicide? Only the souls of future chapters can explain these horrific actions.

Please review!

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Aquarian Wolf- I am glad you like it so far, and I am very flattered at being added to your C2 Archive.


	3. The Start of a Puzzel

Disclaimer: Once again, I am not the CEO of Disney therefore none of the characters or places are mine.

Sorry it took so long to post, but once school started I had no time to really dedicate to my writings because I was either at school or work.

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A scream filled the room as everyone stared in shock at the deceased Master Gracey hanging from a rope in the middle of a stairwell, off to the back of the ballroom. "Master Gracey!" Ramsley uttered, still keeping his composure, but deeply upset that his best and only friend in the world was now gone, and he walked over towards him.

"Does this mean the party's canceled?" asked Goofy, and Donald shook his head at Goofy's stupidity.

"Goofy, a murder just took place!" shouted Mickey, trying to bring him up to speed.

"Oh… right. So, no party?" asked Goofy again.

"Yes, Goofy, no party," said Minnie, humoring him.

"Awe shucks," said Goofy, disappointed.

Mickey then started to pace, thinking over the situation carefully, as the others discussed the circumstances. "Well, it must have been someone who was badly dressed," said Daisy.

"Oh brother," said Donald, annoyed.

"It's true. House of Duck Magazine said most criminals have no sense of fashion. In fact, they were brought up by fashion rejects and are rebelling against those who know anything about fashion," Daisy started, and then after a moment she gasped. "Oh no! I'll be next!"

"You'll only be next if you don't stop talking about fashion," mutter Donald under his breath.

"What was that, Donald?" asked Daisy, turning towards him.

"Uhh…. Nothing," replied Donald, giving a nervous chuckle.

Mickey looked around the ballroom for any clues that could have been left behind by the murderer or murderers. He went over to a table and looked everything over, only to find a knife missing. "Hmm…." He mused to himself, trying to figure out what happened.

"Did you find something, Mickey?" asked Minnie walking over to him.

"This set is missing a knife, and gosh, they all look pretty sharp to me," responded Mickey, looking the other sets over.

"But Master Gracey wasn't stabbed or cut. He was hung," replied a baffled Minnie.

"Looks like somebody was trimming this here rope a little too close," said Goofy, noticing the tie on one of the curtains was cut off.

Mickey and Minnie then ran over to Goofy to examine what he was talking about. "Goofy, that is the rope the murderer used to hang Master Gracey," exclaimed Mickey.

"And they used the knife from the table to cut it off," added Minnie.

"But why wouldn't they have left the knife?" asked Goofy, scratching his head, thinking it over.

"Unless they plan on using it in the future," contemplated Mickey to himself.

"Eww…. There's like two inches of dust on these dishes. Whoever thought we were eating off of these plates is gross," said Daisy as she turned her beak up at the plates.

"Daisy! I think you found a clue," exclaimed Mickey, rushing over to her.

"She did?" questioned Donald.

"Of course I did. What was the clue?" asked Daisy.

"The dust. Every other setting is clean but this one," explained Mickey, pointing out the other settings.

"Which means the murderer probably lives here," Minnie said.

"Oh no… Why do these things always happen to us?" complained Donald, walking around with his face in his hand.

"I don't know, but something strange is going on," said Mickey as he moved over to the window that opened up to the balcony facing the cemetery.

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Indeed, something strange is going on. Now, stay tuned to find out exactly what is going on.

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Nicole- Of course they won't be. Winks

Aquarian Wolf- I'm glad you're still enjoying it, and you love how I did Ramsley.

Rakia and dazzeling diamond- Thanks. Mickey and the Gang are some of my favorite characters on earth, and I've been watching them for years. Just glad to know I'm doing them right. 

leotabelle13- To be completely honest, I've only ridden the attraction 2 times, because I had a bad experience on it one time that scared me out of my mind. So, I'm a bit sketchy on the whole layout, but it was the ballroom he was hung in. The whole attraction completely fascinates me though, and I'm thrilled to be throwing my favorite gang into it.

red headed weasley- Your wish has been granted, and I hope you were not disappointed.

Remember to review everyone!


	4. Chilling News

Disclaimer: Mickey and the Gang nor anything to do with the Haunted Mansion is mine.

Sorry it took so long to update, but between school, work, and my other writings, it is almost impossible to work on this. I will try harder to get it updated sooner though. I promise.

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After a few moments of standing as still as a statue, Mickey stuttered, "Y-y-y-you guys have to come out here and see this…"

The gang rushed out to the balcony and stopped short of Mickey, letting out a unanimous gasp. "Gawrsh, why is there a cemetery in the backyard?" asked Goofy.

"As I told you before," began Ramsley, as he walked out to the balcony, "Captain Gracey…"

"But I thought you called him 'Master Gracey'," said Goofy, confused.

"Goofy, he's referring to Captain Ambrose Gracey, who was a relative of Master Edward Gracey," explained Minnie.

"So there's two Graceys living in there?" asked Goofy.

Minnie took a deep breath and then replied, "No, Goofy. Captain Gracey lived there in the 1800s and has since then passed on. Master Gracey lived there until this very night."

"Well, where did they go?" Goofy asked.

Minnie was about to respond when Mickey chimed in, raising his voice, "They're both DEAD, Goofy!"

"Well, why didn't you just say so in the first place?" questioned Goofy.

Mickey is about to explode when Minnie calms him. "Now, if I may continue please," interrupted Ramsley.

"Please do, Ramsley," responded Minnie with a sigh.

"Captain Gracey had moved in after the cemetery had been constructed for the town. He, of course, did not mind it being here, because he used it to his advantage. No one would want to come inspect a home with a cemetery in the backyard. Therefore, he could develop secret passageways connecting several tombs to the house as a means for escape or transporting goods from the riverboats to his home," explained Ramsley.

"How-How many graves are there?" asked Daisy, looking around the grounds from the balcony.

"If you include Master Gracey, there are now 999 ghosts that haunt the manor," responded Ramsley.

"G-g-g-g-g-g-g-ghost!" shrieked Donald, his teeth chattering uncontrollably.

"Eww… no wonder this place is so dusty," exclaimed Daisy with a disgusted face, as Ramsley narrowed his eyes at her.

"Daisy, mind your manners," said Minnie, gesturing towards Ramsley.

"Oh, sorry," Daisy said sheepishly to Ramsley, and he rolled his eyes at her.

"There are actually many of Master Gracey's relatives buried in there, including his brother George and what was left of his wife Lillian and his other wife Emily," continued Ramsley.

"Wha.. what happened to them?" asked Donald.

"Lillian decided to walk the tightrope that had been set up over a river not to far from the mansion. She loved the attention, and after Madame Leota persuaded her to do her act, she agreed. It was a bit unusual of how fast she had agreed, as almost as if she were under a spell. The two women never seemed to see eye to eye, except when it came to George Gracey. We all knew that they both loved him, so it was quite a shock when Lillian agreed to Leota's proposal. Well, when Lillian was halfway across the river, the rope began to unravel, and before anyone could come to her rescue, she fell into the mouth of an alligator," explained Ramsley.

"Gosh, that's terrible. I can't ever imagine losing my Minnie to a fate like that," said Mickey, putting his arm around Minnie.

"Yes, it was quite a hard blow for George to witness the death of his beloved wife. He never fully recovered from it, although he did wed another after being persuaded by Madame Leota," Ramsley stated, sadly.

"Oh yeah, you were talking about her. Whatever happened to her?" asked Daisy, listening with interest.

"It was an unfortunate wedding day for all. Emily was not even twenty when she married George and loved to play games. It was shortly after their wedding that the two lovers decided to play a childish game of Hide and Seek. In fact, it was so soon after the wedding, she was still in her wedding dress. Emily hid in a large sea chest in the attic, but for a reason un-known, someone had locked her in there. Many hours passed before George found her and by that time, she was dead. No one knows what exactly happened during that game, and if they did, they took it with them to their graves," Ramsley exclaimed.

Minnie shook her head at the tale and said, "That's terrible. It almost sounds like someone planned those deaths; someone who wanted to make George Gracey's life miserable."

"That is precisely what most believed," responded Ramsley.

Barking was then heard under the balcony as Mickey looked over to see Pluto running through the graveyard. "Pluto!" yelled Mickey down to his best pal. "Come on, gang!" Mickey ordered, and they all fled down to the cemetery.

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Author's Note: I realize I got Edward and George mixed up, but hopefully all Haunted Mansion fans can forgive me for just now realizing the mix up.

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I wonder why Pluto was barking. I guess we'll just have to wait and see.

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ravenclaw witch- And updated I did.

James- Thanks.

Aquarian Wolf- I love that fanfic! I look forward to you updating it constantly. And I'm sorry about some of my sources and my memory being a bit off. I'm trying out more new sources now, so hopefully it will start to become more accurately correct than it was.

Don't forget to review, everyone!


	5. Spooks Come Out For a Swinging Wake

Disclaimer: Mickey and the Gang nor anything to do with the Haunted Mansion is mine. Yes, that includes the lovely, eerie song.

Sorry once again that it took so long to update, but between school, work, and now dealing with my internship that will have me relocating to Walt Disney World next month for a five-month job, it is almost impossible to work on this. But, since classes end next week, I will hopefully have a little more time since I won't be doing any more school work.

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As they walked the grounds of the cemetery calling for Pluto, Donald felt a tap on his shoulder. "What's the big idea…?" questioned Donald as he turned around to find no one there.

The color drained all the way from Donald's hat down to his feet. "Hey, Donald! What's wrong?" asked Goofy, looking back at his pal. "You look like you've seen a ghost."

Donald shook as his teeth chattered, and he uttered, "Guh-guh-guh-guh-ghost!" and he ran past everyone, causing Mickey to hold onto his hat and Minnie to hold down her dress.

"Donald! What's going on?" asked Mickey, fixing his hat.

"He said 'Guh-guh-guh-guh-ghost!' and then took off," responded Goofy, imitating Donald.

"That's silly. There's no such thing as ghost," replied Daisy, as she walked behind everyone else.

"I agree with Daisy," said Minnie. "Donald must have just been spooked since we are in a cemetery."

"Yeah, I guess you're right, Min," responded Mickey. "So let's find him, gang!" and they all walked deeper into the cemetery, as a hand covered Daisy and pulled her into the cellar and closed the doors.

Donald hid behind some busts in the eerie cemetery, still shaking. He then peered his head out and looked around for any sign of the supernatural. Finally realizing that he was alone, he let out a sigh of relief as his shaking came to an end. "Phew…. That was a close one," he stated.

_When the crypt doors creak and the tombstones quake  
Spooks come out for a swinging wake  
Happy haunts materialize  
And begin to vocalize  
Grim grinning ghosts come out to socialize_

Upon hearing the first verse of the creepy, tune, Donald began to shake again and looked around to see where the voice was coming from. He then looked up to see the busts singing and ran away as fast as he could.

_  
Now don't close your eyes  
And don't try to hide  
Or a silly spook may sit by your side  
Shrouded in a daft disguise  
They pretend to terrorize  
Grim grinning ghosts come out to socialize_

Donald ran, but the eerie song could not be lost and he tried to close his eyes, but he ended up running into a grave marker. After a moment of being dizzy, he then shook his head and hid behind the stone, only to look over his shoulder and see a ghostly image of an old lady with an axe in her hand. Letting out another scream, he jumped the marker and ran off in another direction.

_  
As the moon climbs high o'er dead oak tree  
Spooks arrive for the midnight spree  
Creepy creeps with eerie eyes  
Start to shriek and harmonize  
Grim grinning ghosts come out to socialize_

He then ran into a dead, oak tree, and stumbled back. Looking up, Donald saw several ghosts come out of the branches and stretching their arms out to him, as they hummed along with the ghoulish song. Donald then made a straightaway exit to his left, and ran like his life depended on it.

_  
When you hear the knell of a requiem bell  
Weird glows gleam where spirits dwell  
Restless bones etherealize  
Rise as spooks of ev'ry size  
Grim grinning ghosts come out to socialize  
Grim grinning ghosts come out  
Grim grinning ghosts come out  
To socialize_

All of a sudden, Donald heard the requiem bells sound and felt that the spirits were following him, and then heard a howl. He looked over to his right to see a shadow of what appeared to be a wolf, or enlarged dog, coming at him. Faster and faster, Donald ran, trying to find some way out of this nightmare. He kept peering over his shoulder to see the dog-like creature bounding after him, when at one point he looked over, he ran into something and fell back.

Several moments later, Donald opened his eyes to see three black figures leaning over him. He let out a scream and started to back up, begging, "Get away! Go haunt someone else!" and then he felt a long tongue lick the side of his face. "Eww..." he said as he wiped the drool off of his cheek, and then looked up to see the one figure step into the light.

"Donald, are you ok?" asked Mickey, reaching out a hand to help pull him to his feet.

Donald took his friend's hand, looking at the other figures to see Goofy and Minnie, then looked behind him to see it was Pluto, who was chasing him. He then got to his feet, chuckling nervously, "Yeah, I'm fine," and then he dusted himself off.

"Good. Now that we've found Donald and Pluto, we should head back to the mansion," said Mickey, starting to head back with Minnie.

"But, Mickey, wait!" said Goofy.

"What is it now, Goofy?" asked Minnie with a sigh.

"Daisy's missing!" Goofy stated urgently.

"Oh no! The ghosts must have got her!" cried Donald.

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Uh-oh! What really happened to Daisy? Moreover, was Donald just seeing things or is Gracey Manor really haunted? Stay tuned for the next chapter to find out.

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Aquarian Wolf- Well, I hope this chapter was well worth the wait. By the way, thanks for easing my mind about all of the details. Since I have a difficult time in being near the attraction at all (When I'm in the park at Walt Disney World.), it is hard to get any information first hand.

James- Again, I'm glad you enjoyed it.

Chocolate14- You're so lucky! I would kill to be able to go to Disneyland, although I can't say I'm entirely unfortunate because I visit Walt Disney World constantly, or to some it seems like. I'm glad you're enjoying the story so far.

EsmeAmelia- Thanks, Liesel. I guess Role Playing all of these characters for so long has proven worth in allowing me to write up this fanfic. Not to mention, all of the cartoons, definitely helped out.

Don't forget to review everyone!


	6. Do You Believe in Ghosts?

Disclaimer: I still don't own Disney, I just work as a Cast Member. So, with that being said, only the writing is mine.

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"Donald, there are no such things as ghosts!" screamed Mickey.

"Now, Mickey, take a deep breath," said Minnie, trying to calm down the upset mouse.

Mickey took a deep breath and then let it out, calming down. "We'll just go back towards the mansion and look for her inside. Hopefully she didn't get too far away from everyone," explained Mickey.

"So, do we need anything to protect us from the ghosts?" asked Goofy.

Before Mickey could say anything, Minnie responded, " No, Goofy. They'll leave us alone."

"Oh good, because I left my 'AJAX Ghost Exterminator' kit back home," replied Goofy, wiping the sweat off of his brow.

Pluto then started barking. "What is it, boy?" asked Mickey, going over to his faithful pup, and Pluto went into his "pointer" position, aiming at the mansion. Up, in the high window was two figures, and the one was coming onto the other. No one could make out who the figures were, but the gang had an awful feeling that they knew who one of them was.

"We have to help Daisy!" exclaimed Donald, as he ran inside with Minnie, Goofy, and Pluto right on his heels.

Mickey started to follow them, but then something caught his eye on the ground. There was a small, gold band embedded into the dirt. So, Mickey leaned over and tried to remove the ring from the ground, but had some difficulty. It seemed to have been in there for quit some time and whoever put it there, had used a great force to do it. After a few minutes though, Mickey finally pried the golden ring from the ground. He then took a close look at it and read the words "Amore vincent omnia" engraved on the band in the stylish cursive with a heart on either side. "Hmm…. I wonder what this means?" Mickey asked himself, while moving the ring back and forth in between his fingers. "I don't have time to worry about this now, I have to find the rest of the gang," said Mickey, and he put the ring in his pocket and ran into the mansion.

Wandering around the old, dusty mansion, Mickey looked around for all of his friends, but could not find even one of them. "Something strange is going on here…" he said to himself, as he looked around.

All of a sudden, a little girl skipped past Mickey singing, "It's raining, it's pouring, the old man is snoring…."

"Wha… what?" said a confused Mickey, and then all of a sudden he heard thunder and looked out a window to see lightning. "But, I thought it wasn't supposed to rain this late tonight," he said to himself and then looked back at the girl.

The little girl now had an eerie blue light coming off of her and seemed to start to become transparent. "It's raining… it's pouring….. it's raining…. It's pouring…." seemed to echo through the halls and become softer as the girl got further and further away from him. She then turned around to face him, right before she reached the door at the end of the hallway, and gave off a creepy grin and spoke, "Please, come and play with me." She then giggled and skipped through the door.

Mickey then wiped his eyes and blinked, staring at the door. His jaw was dropped in shock from what he just saw. Was Donald really telling the truth earlier? Did ghosts really exist? Was Gracey Manor really a haunted mansion? No, it all could not be true…. Could it? Mickey shook his head to get the thoughts out of his mind. No, he was just imagining it all. But, none the less, he'd better go and see what was behind that door.

Slowly, he walked through the halls, his legs getting a bit shaky from the stillness that surrounded him. When all of a sudden the door to his left started to shake and a pounding noise came from it. Mickey was so startled he jumped back, crashing into the door facing the pounding door and let out a scream. Then a moment after hitting the door, the door Mickey leaned against started to shake and pound as well.

The mouse darted out into the middle of the hall, almost turning white from the freight he received from the split twin doors. He then started to hear the pounding all around him, and he slowly turned to look down the halls to see all of the doors rattling and looking as if they were about to come off of the hinges because of someone or something pounding on them to be set free. Without a moment to lose, he sprinted down the hall, thinking he saw a hand or two, trying to escape from behind the doors to grab him, and then heard his name being called by several voices that came from nowhere.

Faster and faster Mickey ran, though the hallway seemed to extend further and further down than it did when he started. Could he really escape this nightmare? Did his friends suffer the same fate he had… or worse? Were they even alive? All of these questioned raced through his head as he ran and reached out for the door.

The time seemed to have stood still and all became quiet as he grabbed the handle on the door and tried to open it, but he found that it was locked. "No…." he uttered, as he pulled and pulled on the door, to open it. He then looked over his shoulder and it looked to be that the doors were about to come off of their hinges any moment now, and he pulled harder. Then all of a sudden, the door swung open, as if by magic, and Mickey darted inside and slammed the door shut. "I just hope the gang is around," said Mickey, quietly to himself, as he looked around to see himself enclosed in darkness with a set of winding stairs in front of him. "Well, I guess there's only one way to find out," he said and then slowly made his way up the creaky steps.

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A/N- Yes, the little girl is based off of Sally Shine from The Tower of Terror.

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So, what will Mickey find at the top of the staircase? Only time will tell.

Please do not forget to review.

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Choco- The reason it is taking so long is because I'm now working down at Walt Disney World, and for some odd reason they think they own me, which is why I cannot spend as much time as I'd like on all of my fanfics. Plus, it is hard to balance so many fanfics at once. But, I am glad that you are enjoying it.

Aquarian Wolf- I'm thrilled that you love it so much, and thankful for a great friend like you.

Thank you so much for the offer to help. I will definitely take you up on it.


	7. Discoveries

Well, here's another short chapter, but at least it is an update. Sorry for the long wait, between work, school, and just honestly not being in the right mood to capture the spirit of the story, I've pushed it off to the side until I felt I could do it justice.

Disclaimer: Bob Iger owns all of Disney, including all of the Cast Members… which means he owns me as well. Oh well, he can't own my writing. How pitiful is that, all I own is my writing? Oh, and the power of my imagination. ;)

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_When the crypt doors creak and the tombstones quake  
Spooks come out for a swinging wake  
Happy haunts materialize  
And begin to vocalize  
Grim grinning ghosts come out to socialize_

"Where is that music coming from?" questioned Mickey to himself as he headed up the winding, old staircase.

It was fairly dark in the stairwell with only a few torches lit that graced the walls every few steps. The cold wind blew about in the drafty column, sending a chill down the scared mouse's back. With every step taken, a different board creaked, sending horrible thoughts into his mind. Would the next board snap under his weight? Would the dust become so bad that it would make him sneeze and the whole place collapse on top of him? All of these questions and more filled his head as he took each step.

He continued his way up, when he saw a faint light coming out from under the cracks of what appeared to be a door. Carefully, he moved towards the door and turned the doorknob to open it. The door creaked open, letting dust fall to the ground as it moved backwards, and Mickey began coughing and swatting the tiny particles away with his hand as he moved through the opening. "What is that?" he asked himself, when he got inside and could see clearly.

It was a dimly lit room with an eerie green glow about giving it most of its light. A few old bookshelves lined most of the wall with thick books and gargoyle like book ends. In one corner sat a raven perched up on a stand, cawing at the new guest in the room. Next to the raven was a floor length window with drapes covering the majority of the glass, not revealing if it lead to a balcony or one's doom if the person dared take a step through the window when it was opened. On the other side of the window was a pile of instruments gathered up in the corner. These musical charms seemed to have not been touched in decades, which was apparent by the amount of dust and cobwebs that now decorated them. Then in the middle of it all, lay an exquisite rug on the wooden floor with a table and two chairs opposing each other. On the table were a few candles, an open book, and a cloth draped over a round object that gave off the green lighting. Then above it all was a chandelier, barely giving off any light what so ever.

Mickey took a look around the room, first inspecting the books on the bookshelves. The books themselves seemed to be thicker than his very hands, but it did not stop him from taking one down and looking it over. He opened it up and skimmed through the book, to see pictures of snakes wrapping themselves around young women and men sinking into quicksand and begging to be pulled out when no one was standing there. Then there was a strange language written on the pages. It looked to be some sort of Latin decent, but Mickey could not make head nor tails of it. Eventually, he put the book back in its proper place and moved over to the table where he saw a different book opened up to a specific page with a ribbon pressed into the rim. In the top right hand corner was a picture of a chest being shut and a hand reaching out and on the pages was the same type of writing he had seen in the other book.

All of a sudden, the green light caught the mouse's eye and he looked up to see the object under the cloth was glowing brighter as an inaudible sound was coming from it. He strained to understand, but thought he could hear the voice of a lady. His hand moved forward towards the cloth when all of a sudden the raven let out a cry and came swooping down over it to remove the cloth and then land on top of one of the chairs. Mickey jumped back as the bird did that, but then turned his attention back towards the object. It was an old-fashioned crystal ball and green smoke was the only thing visible on it. His eyes then narrowed as he looked closer and the smoke started to fade as it revealed the images of his friends. "Pluto? Donald? Goofy?" Mickey said, observing his grief stricken friends. He then leaned closer and saw the image change. "Minnie!" he cried, and he reached out to touch the crystal ball, which then sucked him in as he let out a cry.

The next thing he knew, after his head stopped spinning, was he was sitting on the floor of an attic and Minnie was shaking him and calling his name. "Wha- What's gong on?"

"Oh, Mickey! It's just awful!" exclaimed Minnie, heart broken.

"What is?" questioned Mickey, just as confused as ever.

"Daisy's been locked in a trunk… and not the pachyderm kind either," responded Goofy, before moving away to reveal Daisy, dead in a trunk.

"When we got up here, the trunk was sealed tight, and we heard noises coming from it. By the time we could get it open, Daisy had suffocated to death," explained Minnie, as Donald kept crying, and Goofy and Pluto tried to comfort him.

Mickey then stood up, his mind now focusing a bit more, and moved towards the trunk. He then peered inside to see Daisy, completely lifeless and holding something in her hand. He then reached in to see what she was holding and removed from her grasps a small button that looked strangely similar to those that were sewn into his casual red pants on a daily basis. Whilst examining the button, he caught a glimpse of something out of the corner of his eye. Slowly he turned his head to see a mirror, and for a second he thought he caught an image in it.

"Mickey, what is it?" asked Minnie, seeing him look off to the side.

"I don't know," Mickey responded, as he walked towards the mirror.

A bit of a grey blue smoke filled the glass, and Mickey took a few more steps towards it before stopping and seeing an image appear of a young girl, of about sixteen years of age, in a wedding dress, holding a bouquet of flowers in her hands. Without being conscience of the incident, Mickey reached into his pocket and grabbed something. He then pulled it out and opened up his hand to reveal the ring that he had found earlier.

"What are you doing, Mickey?" questioned Minnie, now concerned.

Mickey paid no attention to her and just stood there like a mindless zombie, staring at the beautiful girl in the mirror, who seemed to be gliding towards him. She then moved one hand away from the bouquet as the other hand holding the flower arrangement fell to the side of her body. The free hand then reached forward towards the spell bound mouse's out stretched hand. Moreover, when her hand passed through the glass towards him, Mickey came back to his realizations and jumped back in fright with a little scream.

He then lost his balance and uttering a "Whoa…." he stumbled backwards and crashed through the floor length window behind him, falling down the three stories outside towards the hallowed ground of the graveyard.

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Will Mickey survive the fall? And what will be the rest of the gang's fate? Tune in to find out what happens in the next chapter.

Please leave a review.

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Neon: Sorry I couldn't rush this out sooner or give you a longer chapter. This one I felt didn't need to go any longer, because it served its purpose. I'll try to get a longer chapter out soon though.

Aquarian Wolf: Sorry I wasn't in WDW in early August of last year. I didn't start my job until the beginning of September… after training at least. I am still working down there, but I'm just seasonal now. However, I will be visiting the first weekend of November for the last Halloween party. Maybe I'll catch you then. And thank you for the compliment. I'm glad the CMs make your trip such a magical experience.

Anyways, I'm glad you're still enjoying it.

Sora-M-Jigen: I'm glad you stumbled upon this and are enjoying it.

Luminouslollie: What the ring said will be spelled out later. And as for working at WDW, I love it, but just like any job, I have my good and bad days.

Once again, sorry about the long wait, but I'd rather give you guys a good chapter than a bad one.


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